Summer of Surpises...

I have a confession to make. Last summer I was a very selfish mother. I put in 14-16 hour days getting the co-op organized, being administrator, teacher, sales person, and all around trouble shooter. I loved every minute of it, in a sick sort of way.

The exception is that I left HoneyGirl on her own for all of that time, to fend and entertain herself. Both KingBee and Buzz were off working long hours, and while I was home I was attached to the phone or computer. Granted, she was thirteen and perfectly capable of her own general care and a child who makes good choices. She was terrific about making her own plans, or pursuing her hobbies. But her only complaint at the end of summer was that she felt quite disconnected from me, and missed time together. We were able to reconnect in fall, and our relationship is at a great place.

I feel very blessed to have a teenager who enjoys spending time with me, and I recognize these high school years as a gift to be cherished. Her recent health struggles have been worrisome to my normally fearless girl. She's become more cautious, and a bit vulnerable, as she is delving into heart testing and cardiologist's visits. She needs more help than usual to distract her from worry.

Enter "Queen & Honey's Fantabulous Summer of Surprises." It struck me the other day that I needed to ensure a way that at least once a week we would do something together, and I started plotting ideas on our quickly filling calendar. I began thinking back to those things she had told me she missed doing last summer. We missed going to see fireworks, and tubing in the creek. We never got to pick our own strawberries, or to the beach for the day.

I took each one of these ideas, along with a few others (like visiting the Philadelphia Museum of Art with our sketchbooks and spending the whole day!) . I used my PrintShop program to create eight cards, each one outlining a weekly adventure, and added clip art, etc. I put them all in sealed envelopes, labeled Week #1 through #8, with "Do not open before" dates .

I clipped then together with a cute back pack clip, and presented her iwth the idea. Her reaction was so priceless, as she asked "Really, adventures for just you and me?" followed by a big hug. This is exactly what she and I both need this summer. We'll keep you posted...